(PALESTINIAN PARTNERSHIP FUND) HR 7060: Introduced 10/12 by Fortenberry (R-NE) and Lowey (D-NY), the “Palestinian Partnership Fund Act of 2018.” Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. This is the House version of S. 3549, introduced in the Senate on 10/12. Fortenberry’s press release is here; Lowey’s is here. Press release from ALLMEP – which has been a moving force behind this legislation – is here.

(NO US SECURITY AID TO KSA FOR NOW) HR 7082: Introduced 10/23 by McGovern (D-MA) and 20 bipartisan cosponsors (17D, 3R), “To prohibit the provision of United States security assistance to the Government of Saudi Arabia, and for other purposes.” Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. McGovern press release is here, noting that the bill “is stronger than the one Congressman McGovern introduced last week.”

(NO US SECURITY AID TO KSA FOR NOW) HR 7070: Introduced 10/16 by McGovern (D-MA) and 15 bipartisan cosponsors, “To prohibit the provision of United States security assistance to the Government of Saudi Arabia pending a determination by the Secretary of State regarding the status of Jamal Khashoggi, and for other purposes.” Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. McGovern press release is here. Other cosponsor press releases: Dingell (D-MI), Welch (D-VT), Pingree (D-ME), Lieu (D-CA).

(NO US AID TO COUNTRIES THAT ENFORCE BLASPHEMY LAWS) H. Res. 1132: Introduced 10/23 by Rooney (R-FL) and no cosponsors, “Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that to promote global religious freedom and freedom of expression, United States foreign aid should not be directed to countries that enforce blasphemy laws.” The resolution specifically calls out Saudi Arabia as a country that should not get U.S. funding due to blasphemy laws.

Letters

(TRUMP: CONDEMN KHASHOGGI MURDER!) Durbin-Leahy-Feinstein-Sanders letter: On 10/23, Sens. Durbin (D-IL), Leahy (D-VT), Feinstein (D-CA) and Sanders (I-VT) sent a letter to President Trump urging him to condemn the murder of Jamal Khashoggi: “Despite mounting evidence that Mr. Khashoggi, a peaceful critic of the Saudi government, was tortured and killed, the White House has continued to equivocate on the obvious and coddled Saudi leaders. [We] should speak firmly with a united voice—American values are not for sale.” Press release is here.

(QUESTIONS TO TWITTER RE: SAUDI-TRUMP RELATIONS) Blumenthal letter: On 10/22, Sen. Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to the CEO of Twitter asking for answers to a list of questions related to Twitter’s knowledge and activities with respect to entities affiliated with Joel Zamel/Psy-Group.

(DID US HAVE PRIOR INTEL OF KHASHOGGI MURDER) Pocan-Khanna et al letter: On 10/22, Reps. Pocan (D-WI) and Khanna (D-CA) led a bipartisan group of 55 Members of Congress in writing to Daniel Coats, Director of National Intelligence, calling for the release of information regarding the U.S. intelligence community’s advance knowledge of Saudi Arabia’s plot to capture journalist and American resident Jamal Khashoggi. Press release is here.

(NEED ANSWERS ABOUT TRUMP FINANCIAL DEALS WITH KSA) Nadler-Blumenthal letter to Trump: On 10/19, Reps. Nadler (D-NY) and Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote to President Donald Trump to demand answers about payments the President and the Trump Organization have accepted from the Saudi royal family and government during the President’s time in office, apparently in violation of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause. Press release is here.

(SANCTIONS ON KSA) Doggett et al letter: On 10/18, Doggett (D-TX) let a letter, signed by more than 40 fellow lawmakers, urging President Trump to impose sanctions, under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, on those responsible for Jamal Khashoggi’s death. The letter states their support for their Senate colleagues’ action to begin an investigation and urges an overdue end to U.S. support for Saudi Arabian military action in Yemen. Press release is here.

(INVESTIGATE KHASHOGGI MURDER) Dingell et al letter to KSA: On 10/12, Rep. Dingell (D-MI) and 27 fellow House Democrats sent a very diplomatically worded letter to the Saudi Ambassador to the United States regarding Jamal Khashoggi, closing with: “we are requesting the full cooperation of the Saudi government into an independent investigation of Mr. Khashoggi’s whereabouts. We appreciate your consideration of this matter and look forward to a full and fair accounting of the facts of Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance.”

(US MUST DEMAND ANSWERS FROM KSA) Jones letter to Trump: On 10/12, Jones (R-SC) sent a letter to President Trump urging him to “demand answers from the Saudi Arabian government regarding the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, to end support of Saudi Arabian involvement in the Yemeni Civil Warm and to reevaluate our unholy alliance with the kingdom immediately.”

(POSSIBLE KSA SANCTIONS UNDER GLOBAL MAGNITSKY ACT) Donnelly letter: On 10/12, Sen. Donnelly (D-IN) sent a letter to President Trump urging him to “make a determination with regard to the imposition of sanctions pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act in the case of Mr. Khashoggi. This law is explicitly designed to punish persons “responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals in any foreign country seeking to expose illegal activity carried out by government officials, or to obtain, exercise, or promote human rights and freedoms.” Press release is here.

2. Hearings

No hearings but the transcript of the September 27 HFAC markup was released, here. That markup included HR 4591, “Preventing Iranian Destabilization of Iraq Act of 2017.”

3. On the Record

Hastings (D-FL) 10/24: Op-ed in the Times of Israel pushing back (yet again) against suggestion that Democrats are less pro-Israel than Republicans: “…the Democratic Party will always support Israel and Jewish communities across the globe.”

Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) 10/23: Congressman Krishnamoorthi Calls for Transparency on All Financial Ties Between Trump Administration Officials and Saudi Arabia, Investigation of President Trump’s Failure To Nominate an Ambassador